Florida Sen. Marco Rubio closed the first day of the New Hampshire Republican Party’s First-in-the-Nation Leadership Summit Friday night with a warning that “our identity as a nation of exceptionalism and exceptional opportunity is in doubt.

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Rubio, 43, who announced his candidacy for president in his home state on Monday, outlined a broad vision of a new start for the nation before a packed ballroom at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, saying that while the nation is proud of its history, “it has always been about its future.

“This isn’t sport,” he said of the election. “This is about the future of America and about its very identity.”

He was the final of nine announced or likely presidential candidates who spoke on Friday to the Republicans from New Hampshire and beyond. Ten more are scheduled to speak tomorrow, including Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, businesswoman Carly Fiorina, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

“We need to understand that we are now engaged in a global competition for investment, innovation and talent,” Rubio said. “Our government policies are holding us back from winning that competition,” citing the tax code and “crushing” regulations.

He said the Affordable Care Act “is actually discouraging businesses from hiring people. We have an energy policy that is keeping us from fully using energy sources that we have been blessed with as a nation.”

But he said with a “pro-growth tax policy” that allows businesses to pay less in taxes as they expand, “then I have full confidence the American people will do what they always have done. They will create millions, not just of good jobs, but better paying jobs, 21st Century jobs.”

Answering questions from GOP activists in the audience after his speech, Rubio said he opposed the Common Core education program, said the National Labor Relations Board is a prime example of federal over-regulation and called for reform of entitlement programs.

With the current programs “not sustainable,” Rubio told a Dartmouth College student, “For my generation and your generation, it is still going to be the very best thing in the world, but it’s going to be much different than it was in the past.”

He said Iran “uses terrorism the way other nations use diplomacy,” and said President Barak Obama “never should have entered into these negotiations” on nuclear weapons.

(Our earlier reports follow.)

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush assured about 600 New Hampshire Republicans gathered for the First-in-the-Nation Leadership Summit he knows that if he runs for president, he won't be crowned as the nominee.

"I don't see any coronation coming my way," Bush replied to a question from an activist. "What are you seeing that I'm not seeing?"

Bush, insisting his record in Florida was conservative, said, "I did it. I didn't talk about it. I will have to earn it if I get into the arena. I will have to earn it. No one is going to give it to me."

Bush followed New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to the podium as the seventh and eighth prospective GOP presidential candidate to speak to the group. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio will speak Friday night, with another full day of speeches from 10 more announced or prospective candidates to follow on Saturday.

Christie promoted his hard-nosed "New Jersey" personality while talking about his ability to compromise and build consensus.

"I'm a Republican from New Jersey," he said. "Try that for a while."

As for his own electability, he said, "This could wind up being a really grand experiment, but it might wind up being a risk that's worth taking."

He also noted that he gave a "very simple" and "very direct" speech on entitlement reform earlier in the week. He said his plan is specific and yet broad.

"If anybody comes up on this stage and wants to talk to you about national defense, wants to talk to you about education, research and development, tax cuts or anything else involving the federal government, you should ask them what they are going to do on entitlements," Christie said. "Because if they're not going to do something to fix that problem, we're not going to be able to deal with any of the other problems or opportunities that we have in this country."

He said he realized his plan may not be popular, but he said straight talk has been his style.

"I didn't run for governor of New Jersey to be prom king," he said.

Bush said his record in Florida was conservative, and it worked.

"I got to apply conservative principles in a way that moved the needle for people to find a way for a better life," Bush said. "I did with diligence, I did it with passion, I did it with conviction. And the state is better off."

Bush said not only were there no tax increases during his time as governor, "We cut taxes every year…We reduced the state government workforce by 13,000 people, 10 percent.

"This sounds like a nerdy thing," he said, but, "we reserved for a rainy day. We started with $1 billion in reserve and when I left it was $9.5 billion." He said he was known as "Veto Corleone," because he vetoed 2,500 line items in state budgets."

But he also called on Republicans to help those "in the back of the line." He said Republicans should not simply criticize Democrats, but must also "offer a compelling alternative so that more and more and more people join us in our cause."

"I know we will not win if we just nominate people who just complain about how bad things are," Bush said.

President Barack Obama, Bush said, "is the first president in the post-World War II era who does not believe in America's place in the world as a leader and America's presence in the world as a force for good. I do."

Bush also said he is in favor of "traditional marriage, informed by my faith. But I have no animus for people who have a different view."

Earlier, both former Ambassador John Bolton and New York Rep. Peter King urged focus on national security.

Bolton warned that Russia's Vladimir Putin will test Obama in the next two years and said China's leaders are becoming aggressive in the South China Sea.

"This is the kind of assertion of power contrary to American interests that our president simply pays no attention to," Bolton said. "The threat of international terrorism has grown substantially since he's been in office."

"It is only a matter of time before some worse tragedy befalls us in the United States," he said.

Bolton said Obama's deal with Iran "is the most serious act of appeasement in American history."

While making concessions to a "state sponsor of terrorism," Bolton said, Obama "snubs, insults the democratically elected leader of our firmest ally in the Middle East, the state of Israel."

King also pushed for pragmatism on Capitol Hill, criticizing, without naming names, those who supported or allowed the government shutdown of 2013.

"Despite what some candidates say, the NSA is not listening to anyone's phone calls," King said. "No one's going after anyone's cellphone. They are a necessary component put in place by the Bush administration. I stand by what they're doing. They have stopped any number of attacks.

"It's wrong for people to go before the American people and say that somehow it's our own government that we have to worry about," King said. "The fact is, the enemy is ISIS, the enemy is al-Qaida, the enemy is Islamic extremism."

(Our earlier report follows.)

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry told about 600 Republicans at the NHGOP's First-in-the-Nation Leadership Summit on Friday afternoon that "America's best days are ahead of us," but he said Washington cannot be fixed by electing a president who is "from Washington" and "of Washington."

He urged GOP activists at the biggest political event in recent memory to look outside of Capitol Hill when considering who should next occupy the White House.

Perry spoke passionately of crossing the English Channel with his father, who served in the armed forces during World War II.

He said his father, now 90, crossed the channel 71 times in his life.

The thousands of graves at Normandy Beach "all look west -- west to America. The America they had left and the America that they would never return to," Perry noted.

"I happen to think today they look upon us in silent judgment," Perry said. "We need to ask ourselves whether we remain a nation worthy of their sacrifice.

"If we had learned the lessons of their generation that evil must be confronted, that courage is the greatest weapon in the arsenal of free men and women, then America must always lead," Perry said. "The answer to that is an overwhelming yes. We will deliver this country back to the track and the people who gave us this opportunity."

Perry, who has said he will make a final decision on whether to run for president in May or June, was the third of 19 announced or prospective candidates at the event, which is attracting nationwide media attention

Following Perry, former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore called for elimination of the death tax and overall tax cuts.

He also called for a tougher foreign policy, saying that Russia recognizes current "American weakness" and the nuclear deal with Iran is questionable at best.

"I don't know if it is going to do the job," Gilmore said. "This is a serious challenge.

"We need a new American foreign policy that will project American strength and not American uncertainty. We're also seeing with Barack Obama today a policy that says, ‘Pull back, pull back, pull back.' It's a real isolationist policy and there must be a new foreign policy in this country."

(Our earlier report follows.)

First up at the state Republican Party's First-in-the-Nation Leadership Summit, former New York Gov. George Pataki made it clear he is heading toward a presidential candidacy.

Pataki toyed with the idea of running in the past two cycles, but he is "much more inclined to run" this year because, he said, the problems facing the country are more pressing than ever. He made it clear only federal election regulations are keeping him from declaring.

"We're getting there," he said. "It's not where you start, it's where you end." And he made it clear that he has no interest in seeking a Cabinet seat.

Pataki was the first of 19 announced or prospective presidential hopefuls who will be speaking to about 600 Republican activists Friday and Saturday.

Each will have about 15 minutes to speak, and Pataki used his time in a unique way, answering questions submitted to his website and on video by Granite Staters.

He recalled the strength and unity Americans showed following the 9/11 attacks.

Pataki called for congressional term limits and a "no budget, no pay" law for Congress. He called the Affordable Care Act "the worst law of my lifetime" and called for "reclaiming the 10th Amendment."

He was even asked if prefers wine or beer. "Both," he said, preferring a beer in the afternoon and a glass of wine at night.

He told reporters after his presentation that while he personally believes marriage should be between one man and one woman, "it is a state issue. If Texas and New York want to have different laws, that's the nature of America."

Pataki served as governor of New York while Hillary Clinton was a U.S. senator.

"We worked well together, but I'm disappointed in her term as secretary of state and the cocoon she has lived in and the destruction of the emails," he said.

(Our earlier report follows.)

Nineteen announced or prospective Republican candidates, 600 to 700 paying attendees, more than about 240 members of the media, dozens of protesters, two major Democratic figures - and at some point in the next two days, a guy dressed up like Paul Revere on horseback.

And two major targets - Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

It adds up to the biggest political event in recent memory in New Hampshire. The New Hampshire Republican Party's First in-the-Nation Leadership Summit kicked off Friday morning in Nashua with NHGOP chair Jennifer Horn imploring the crowd to show unity while deciding over the coming months on their choice for GOP presidential nominee.

"Please, please," she said, "save your attacks for the Democrats," adding that Hillary Clinton would bring "four more years of Barack Obama" to The White House.

By Saturday night, every major Republican who has spoken about the possibility of running for president in 2016, except two, will have been called to the podium at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and will have given a 15-minute pitch on why he - or in one case, she - would be the GOP's best choice to go against the likely Democratic presidential nominee next year.

WMUR.com is livestreaming the event beginning at 11 a.m. on Friday.

Just short of 10 months before the Granite State's leadoff presidential primary, the scene suggested it was much later in the process. If you didn't look at the calendar, you'd think the state was just weeks out from its making its customary mark on the presidential nominating process.

The next two days will tell if there will be any winners and losers in this early test of crowd pleasing. From former New York Gov. George Pataki, who will kick off the presidential lineup at 11 a.m. to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who will wrap up the festivities on Saturday evening, everyone will be trying to win the unofficial award for applause, standing ovations and landing the most effective verbal punches on the two main targets - Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

There is one big winner, however - the state Republican Party.

Working for several months through staff and volunteer to put together a logistical jigsaw puzzle and keep everyone - including the candidates - happy, the NHGOP seems to have pulled it off. It will reap the biggest reward - an estimated take of at least $200,000 and probably more to invest toward a 2016 general election that will be a major challenge for them to try to build on their gains from last year's election.

"We're so excited, Horn said. "The party has never done anything like this before. There is so much energy coming from the activists and the voters. They are ready to get this process started.

"It's time for new leadership, and this is the first step in getting that," said Horn, who said the party has been planning the event for more than a year."

Horn said the activists are looking for "an optimistic vision for the future of our country, a clear plan and the ability to execute that plan and also for sincerity, a true heart for the greatness that our nation possesses."

Democratic National Committee Chairman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and NHDP Chair Raymond Buckley chided the Republicans before the first candidate took the stage. They referred to the Republican candidates as a “clown car.”

“You’ll hear a lot from them about a whole lot that’s new,” Wasserman-Schultz said. “New person, new campaign, but it’s not about what’s new, it’s about their old ideas.

“We have been and will be dedicated to the middle class,” she said, while, “The Republicans continue to double down on policies that voters have repeatedly rejected. Voters came down on the side of democrats because they know we have their back.”

Wasserman-Schultz said Marco Rubio is “selling the same stale, harmful ideas that the rest of the party is selling, while, with Rand Paul, “How can you reach out to African American voters when you opposed the Civil Rights Act?”

Ted Cruz, she said, “represents everything voters hate about Republicans, while Jeb Bush “never looked out for the middle class and he never will.” Scott Walker “already brought the worst of a Washington’s divisiveness to Wisconsin,” while Chris Christie’s “failed policies have driven New Jersey’s economy into the ditch.

Overall, she said, the GOP field opposes increasing the minimum wage and equal pay legislation promote policies that “benefit the wealthiest, and want to turn back the clock on women’s and LGBT equality.”

Nashua GOP city committee member Ed Stebbins said he is looking for “someone with some good executive experience. I think we’ve had an inexperienced senator in there. Governors would tend to work with people and try to solve problems. And Donald Trump has some executive experience, too.”